In the tournament, every team is fighting for survival, including us / Article

It has already been reported that the Latvian men’s hockey team defeated Slovenia 3:2 in the Group B game of the World Championship “Arena Riga” on Friday, celebrating their third success in a row and stabilizing themselves in the fight for the quarterfinals.

“In this tournament, every team is fighting for survival, including us. It is important to pay attention that after such a turbulent game, we learned to stabilize the third period. We played well in defense, but I don’t know how the game would have turned out if the fourth goal had been scored. The important thing is the victory, ” said Vītoliņš after the success.

In the third period, the Latvians shot the puck at the opponent’s goal eight times, while the Slovenians shot at the Latvian goal 13 times. Vītoliņš explained that it is self-evident that in the final 20 minutes, the team that is behind will try to attack more.

“When the opponent has nowhere to run, they go all the way. The positive thing is that we were in the lead throughout the match and kept the result. I wouldn’t mind if we won the next two games in this style,” added the coach.

On the other hand, talking about what the Latvian national team needs to improve before tomorrow’s match against Kazakhstan, the coach pointed out that there should be better discipline on Saturday, because they failed against the Slovenians at the beginning of the second period.

“Discipline is not just for two minutes in the minority, but everyone has to do their job throughout the game,” he highlighted. “For example, defenders must not attack in such a way that it interferes with the defense. It must be remembered that defense is the priority for defenders and attack is the priority for forwards.”

Both in the matches against Norway and Slovenia, and tomorrow against Kazakhstan, Latvian hockey players are in the role of conditional favorites. Vītoliņš did not hide that it gives an additional sense of responsibility in matches.

“That freedom gives you the feeling that you can do something more. Sometimes it’s deceptive, because the opponent is also skilled enough. It’s already difficult for the best teams to fight against us, because they know that they are the favorites. We have to balance the responsibility that we are the favorites, and continue to play your game,” explained the coach.

The coach could not yet confirm whether Shilov will guard the goal again on Saturday against Kazakhstan, noting that there is still enough time until the next match and all three national team goalkeepers are ready to play in goal.

With 12 points in four games, Switzerland takes the first place in the group, Canada has 11 points, the Czech Republic has ten points, and Latvia is fourth with eight points in five matches. Slovakia and Norway are behind the home team with four points, Kazakhstan has scored two points, and Slovenia has no points in five matches.

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